The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking further steps to stop Grayscale Investments’ efforts to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Grayscale began its legal challenge of the SEC’s denial order of the proposed investment product in June 2022.

A 73-page brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Dec. 9 saw the SEC lay out the reasoning for its initial decision to bar Grayscale’s request to convert its existing Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The SEC is looking for the D.C. Circuit to deny Grayscale’s appeal, which claims the proposed fund is inherently different from futures ETFs it has approved in the past.

Grayscale argues that the SEC's disapproval order violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the guidelines through which American federal agencies develop and issue regulations. The investment fund cited previous approvals by the SEC to list and trade Bitcoin futures contracts.

(By GARETH JENKINSON)